Seeing as the original Top Gun movie starring Tom Cruise was released nearly 25 years ago, releasing a new Top Gun game in 2010 might seem like curious timing. However, the developer of the new Top Gun game (DoubleSix) has skillfully avoided the terrible rule #1 of film-to-game adaptations; NEVER try to coincide a game adaptation with the release of the movie. The list of ill-thought out games that were rushed out to capitalise on a film’s release is a very long and sorry looking list; fortunately it is a list that does not contain the latest Top Gun game.

Top Gun (the game) is based quite heavily on the premise of the movie, in that you are a recruit in the Top Gun academy and must graduate before you are able to access the ‘real’ missions. There is a tutorial section to get you familiar with the basic controls and moves, then when you start the game proper you take on the more advanced training at the academy, giving a short but simple learning curve. The controls are intuitive, and after twenty minutes of playing you’ll get the hang of pretty much everything. The rear triggers are used to speed up and slow down, the top shoulder buttons are used to shift from side to side and the Square and X buttons are used to fire rockets and bullets respectively. Should you find an enemy missile locked on to you, a quick tap of the left d-pad will release a flare to deflect the missle, though it does take time to get used to doing this while in the middle of a dogfight. The Circle button is used for accessing CFI mode – essentially a fixed third person camera angle that allows you to keep both you and the enemy on screen at the same time, useful for tight aerial dogfights where the enemy keeps moving out of view.

The gameplay is relatively simple, generally involving finding targets, locking on, then firing your missiles to destroy them. There are ground-based enemies and aerial enemies, mainly consisting of aircraft, radar-jamming stations and anti-aircraft guns – along with a few water based equivalents aboard ships. You are initally assigned a single aircraft and a choice of three missiles; short, medium and long-range each with their own stats including damage and payload. As you progress through the flight school and into the ‘real’ missions, you are given a choice a three aircraft with a similar choice of stats to the missile choice. As well as the standard campaign mode there is ‘Horde Mode’, in which you fight wave after wave of enemy fighters until you are killed, and a fun multiplayer mode that consists of Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Top Gun, Bombing Run and Capture the Flag modes.

The bulk of the gameplay takes place over either desert canyons or open water but there is generally enough variation considering that you are flying around some pretty large, open areas. The graphics, while just sufficient for a PSN title, do suffer from low resolution textures particularly on the terrain which sadly features very little extra detail, with virtually no buildings or towns to add extra depth, and at times the game almost looks like an HD upgrade of a PS2 game. The upside to this however, is that the framerate is absolutely solid, there is no screen-tearing, and there is a decent draw distance with no noticeable pop-up. The sound is a mixed bag, with some bland effects like the afterburner mixed with some fairly punchy explosions that actually sound pretty good on a decent surround sound system. There are voice-overs throughout most missions that add little to the enjoyment of the game but do help match the game to cheesy 80s style of the film. You also get treated to the main Top Gun theme when you start the game, as well as ‘Danger Zone’ when you’re playing in Horde mode, which will no doubt appeal to fans of the film.

Although Top Gun is lacking in polish, which can in part be attributed to its nature as a downloadable PSN title, as well as its relatively tiny (240MB) download size, the fundamental gameplay is enjoyable and is ideal for quick ’pick up and play’ gaming sessions. Clearly there are problems with the game, and the lack of variety can be slightly tiresome, but underneath there is a fun, old-school arcade flying game. What’s more, the Horde and Multiplayer modes add considerable longevity to the game, and should keep you going for some time. Likewise, Top Gun offers a nice selection of Trophies which offer a decent challenge without being overly difficult to obtain. If you’re a fan of the movie, or even if you’re not, and you are willing to overlook the flaws in the game, Top Gun offers solid value for £7.99.

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